Olympus Refreshes Imaging Line

Melville, N.Y. — Olympus refreshed its digital camera lineup with five new introductions, renaming two product families and introducing a new dye-sublimation photo printer.

The new Stylus 600 features an all-weather construction and the company’s new “Bright Capture” technology, which Olympus says improves low light photography without a flash.

The 6-megapixel Stylus 600 features a 3x optical/5x digital zoom, a 2.5-inch LCD, 26 shooting modes, PictBridge-compatibility and a built-in help guide.

The camera also features built-in editing features such as red eye removal, the ability to add frame and text to images, color brightness and saturation adjustment. A super macro mode can focus on subjects up to 2.8 inches away.

The Stylus 600 will ship this month for an estimated $299.99.

The company’s C-series of digital cameras has been replaced with the SP-series. Its newest member includes the 6-megapixel SP-500 UZ. The camera features a 10x optical zoom lens (38-380mm/35mm equivalent) with an extra-dispersion (ED) glass element, 2.5-inch LCD, manual and automatic exposure controls, in-camera editing and 21 scene modes. The camera is compatible with accessory lenses.

The SP-500 UZ will ship in October for an estimated $379.99.

Olympus also renamed its D-series of entry level models. The new FE-series will consist of three models, the 4-megapixel FE-100, 5-megapixel FE-110 and 6-megapixel FE-120 for an estimated $149..99, $199.99, and $229.99, respectively. All the cameras share a built-in help guide, PictBridge compatibility, separate buttons for shooting, playing back and erasing images and several scene modes.

The FE-100 and 110 feature a 2.8x optical/4x digital zoom lens and will ship with a 16MB xD card. The FE-120 features a 1.8-inch LCD, a 3x optical/4x digital zoom lens and will ship with a 32MB xD card.

Finally, the company announced the P-11 dye sublimation printer. The PictBridge-enabled device can produce a 4-inch by 6-inch photo or a 3.5 by 5-inch borderless image in roughly 33 seconds, Olympus said.

Prints feature an over-coating to protect against UV light, fingerprints, and water. The unit’s paper tray does not protrude from the body of the printer, which the company says protects prints from dust.